Essay 1 final draft due Tuesday

Remember that both drafts of essay 1, the rough and the final, need to be handed in on Tuesday.

There are a lot of good suggestions for revising essays both in our reader on pages 20-23 and in Rules for Writers on pages 35-40. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you should revise before you edit. In other words, change big things before you worry about sentence-level issues such as grammar and clarity. You don't want to spend your time editing sentences that you later decide to get rid of because they don't fit. Cut, add, and rearrange material first (global revision); then fix grammar, spelling, and clarity (sentence editing, proofreading).

Global revision

• Review essay purpose: topic & method. Are you answering the prompt?
• Rethink argument. Could your thesis be better?
• Redraft unworkable material.
• Add new material. What further evidence does the paper need? Have you demonstrated the effects?
• Delete material. If it doesn't fit the thesis, then it doesn't belong in the essay.
• Reorganize paragraphs. What is the best order of the paragraphs? How will the structure reinforce the argument?
• See other suggestions on pages 36-37 of Rules for Writers and pages 21-22 of our reader.

Final editing

• Reword sentences for clarity.
• Fix any fragments, run-ons, pronoun agreement, pronoun clarity, subject-verb agreement, and number agreement issues.
• Spell check your spell-checker. Don't assume it is always right or that it catches all errors.
• Have you done the MLA citation properly, both in-text and works cited?
• See the checklist on page 23 of our reader and use Rules for Writers.

these rules is useful

EWRT1A sections 27 and 65: Grammar Review 2

Here is the link to Grammar Review 2. Keep in mind that each sentence may have more than one problem.

EWRT1A sections 27 and 65: Reading Response 3

Reading Response 3

Alice Walker "In Search of Our Mothers Gardens"

Choose one of the prompts below or come up with your own focus of analysis.

 1. According to what Walker shows in this essay, what are some of the forces that hinder people from being true to their own identities? Use specific examples to demonstrate a larger theme.

2. What does Walker's essay show us about how people are able to find their own identities? What do people need? Use specific examples to demonstrate a larger theme.

3. This essay is full of artists. Using some of these artists as examples, what does Walker's essay show you about the possible function(s) of art? In other words, what does this essay teach us about the purpose of art?

Malcolm X

In order to understand the significance of "Leaning to Read" by Malcolm X, you should listen to the man speak (if you haven't before). Here is one of his famous speeches, given at Oxford, England 1964.

EWRT1A sections 27 and 65: Grammar Review 1

Here is Grammar Review 1. Either print it out or write your corrected sentences on another sheet of paper.

EWRT1A sections 27 and 65: essay 1

In case you missed it or lost it, here is a pdf of the handout about essay 1.